Nathan Buckley has hailed Richmond utility Liam Baker as “one of the great stories in AFL footy”, given his development at the top level.
After being selected by the Tigers in the 2017 rookie draft, Baker has improved his versatility year-on-year and would be one of the first names on Damien Hardwick’s whiteboard.
He’s averaging 18.7 disposals in 2022 playing primarily as a backman but pushed forward in the final quarter against Port Adelaide last week to record 13 disposals and three shots on goal as the Tigers prevailed by 12 points.
“I don’t know if it’s right to fall in love with an opposition player, but I’ve always loved this bloke,” Buckley told SEN’s Whateley.
“His attitude, his fire, his intensity, he’s played forward, he’s played wing, he’s playing back now - I just think that he’s one of the great stories in AFL footy.
“His capacity to improve himself year-on-year, when you look out onto a football field and it’s AFL, this is the top level of this sport, you can see one guy who stands out above all the other guys as trying harder, like that just doesn’t make any sense but this bloke does it every week.
“And he’s in rare form at the moment, whatever the coach asks of him he gets it done and he can swing forward as a pressure forward if he needs to be, but I just think he’s brilliant.”
The Tigers can move themselves back inside the top eight with a win over Carlton on Thursday night.
Hardwick’s troops have won four of their last five games and are showing signs of potentially getting back to their best, and Buckley believes Baker has played a pivotal role.
“He’s an energiser bunny, he gets it done. He’ll position really well off those high forwards and he’ll know when to squeeze and pressure and maybe turn the ball over in their front half,” he continued.
“He’s averaged four inside 50s (a game) in the last month, that’s playing largely as a defender. Richmond has been able to play the game in their front half more often than not, they’ve scored more heavily than any other team in the competition from the front half turnovers this season which is back to the DNA of their premiership years and Baker has been a really important part of that off their back half in turning defence into offence and being really aggressive with the way he defends.”
Baker is out of contract at the end of 2022, but is in talks with the Tigers regarding an extension.